When faced with an extremely shocking event, we can sometimes become frozen by fear. This reaction is called the state of astonishment. “Historically, astonishment meant the harmful influence exerted by a star on the behavior or health of a person. Then, medicine borrowed this term to name sudden suspension of vital functions. In psychology, the term means a sudden shutdown of the psyche in the face of the horror of trauma.begin clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Maria Hejnar.
What is astonishment?
Biologically, the astonishment can be explained: “It is a level of stress hormones exceeding a certain threshold which activates it even if the subject does not have the capacity to intellectually understand what is happening to them. Violent stress represents a vital risk, particularly cardiovascular and neurological for the body by “overheating”, or overproduction of stress hormones. To preserve survival, the saturated brain trips the emotional circuit and (like a blown fuse) blocks it, creating a state of anesthesia. The person can then neither feel nor reason and no longer records what they are experiencing. continues the psychologist. In summary, a sort of disconnection occurs, both physical and psychological, at the moment. But in fact, the victim can no longer react or defend himself.
In what situations does astonishment occur?
There are several situations that can lead to a state of astonishment. First a terrifying event: “Traumatic astonishment, this state of absolute psychic emptiness, occurs under the effect of a violent emotional shock. It is most often linked to a terrifying traumatic event, the equivalent of confronting death. she elaborates.
But astonishment can also occur in less direct situations, via small shocks, such as when faced with violent images seen on television for example. Or “this can manifest itself after an unexpected and brutal bereavement, for example following the suicide of a child”, notes Maria Hejnar. She gives another example, “a child who witnesses a sexual scene, who does not yet have the capacity to understand what is happening, will suffer a loss of meaning and experience a feeling of humiliation and guilt which can stun him, freeze him emotionally and cognitively.”
The psychologist also emphasizes that “micro siderations” are possible faced with a speech that does not make sense, and which makes the person receiving it lose their bearings. “Faced with someone who makes paradoxical or hurtful remarks, we may find ourselves temporarily incapable of thinking, let alone responding or defending ourselves. Perverts and harassers tend to use incoherent or paradoxical speech in order to destabilize their victims to obtain submission or maintain control. Astonishment can therefore also be one of the consequences of harassment and paradoxical messages that astound thought”, she adds. Through repetition, this can lead to a breakdown of associative links, a lasting blockage of cognitive processes or even an emotional overflow.
What are the symptoms of the state of astonishment?
Concretely, astonishment leads to paralysis of the bodyin all its components: perceptual, motor, cognitive and affective. “The astonishment generally only lasts for the duration of the traumatic event, sometimes a few minutes or a few hours. But when the trauma is intense, unrepresentable and indescribable, the astonishment it causes can lead to a more lasting dissociation.” She explains that to avoid insurmountable anxiety, the “petrified” psyche then divides into several parts. “The person seems out of time, indifferent. The lasting dissociation of the psyche manifests itself in particular by a rupture of associative links, a loss of bearings, a psychological confusion as well as a breakdown in the sense of identity.”
What are the consequences of the state of astonishment?
This can lead to a depressive state and the development of addictions. In the list of consequences linked to astonishment, there is amnesia, but also panic attacks, reminiscences of the event, somatization. “The state of astonishment does not allow one to get rid of the trauma, on the contrary, astonishment cuts the person off from their experience and makes them function like an automaton. Consequently, traumatic memories remain inaccessible, trapped in the unconscious.”
The psychologist recalls that due to the petrification linked to the state of astonishment, the consequences of the trauma can be increased. Firstly because the person does not defend themselves and secondly because they then feel guilty for not having reacted. For example, “a woman who was unable to defend herself or even cry out for help during a rape may feel extreme guilt even though she was not able to defend herself because of this traumatic astonishment which caused disrupt his psyche”, she notes.
What support in the event of a state of astonishment?
Treatment to help a patient who has suffered a state of astonishment involves therapy. “It is essential that the victim reclaims their story, that they are once again able to give it meaning. For this, traumatic events must be taken up in a discourse. But memories blocked in the unconscious are inaccessible and difficult to elaborate. We must therefore find lost memories, remember and express the emotions linked to these memories”, she elaborates. Psychotherapy intervenes at this moment, to help the patient remember, and reconstruct what she calls “psychic continuity”. THE EMDR type psychotherapies for example, allow you to unblock traumatic memories and express blocked emotions. Maria Hejnar also cites hypnosis, which can be useful for activating blocked psychic processes.